London Hotel Options, From Budget to Deluxe

Info: 011-44-87-0333-9102, http://www.thistlehotels.com/.

· Thistle Westminster Hotel, Buckingham Palace Road (Victoria)

Price: $1,029. Room-only price:$467 (Expedia.com), $204 (Thistlehotels.com).

Details: Now here's a new decor concept: tan brick covering the inside walls of a hotel. It gives the sense of wandering through a village, only to end up in a very modern, clean and spacious guest room. The hotel has 134 rooms on two floors and, as manager Marianne Brown promises, there are "no tiny shoebox rooms here." Twenty-nine rooms will soon offer two double beds, an option Brown said is popular with overseas guests. Wireless Internet, available throughout the hotel, is about $12 per hour. It's just a few minutes to the Victoria Tube station on the District, Circle and Victoria lines as well as London Victoria Railway Station, which allows easy access to Gatwick airport.

Info:011-44-87-0333-9121, http://www.thistlehotels.com/.

Superior

· Crowne Plaza St. James Court Hotel, 45-51 Buckingham Gate (Westminster)

Price: $909. Room-only price:$219 (Crowneplaza.com).

Details: From the elegant lobby and solicitous staff to the delightful period prints on the walls, this is a hotel with character and history, built around a gorgeous courtyard that used to see carriage traffic and now offers topiary. All 321 rooms and 21 suites come with robes, tea and coffee, multiple phones and tasteful decor (with color schemes such as dark red and plaid). Rooms facing the courtyard have wireless access, while the others offer broadband; rates are capped at $30 a day. The complex also holds several restaurants and the Zander Bar, which trivia buffs may know boasts the longest bar in the United Kingdom. Victoria Station and St. James's Tube stations are a quick walk away, as are Buckingham Palace and St. James's Park; the front desk can assist with scenic running routes.

Info: 011-44-20-7834-6655, http://www.london.crowneplaza.com/.

· K West Hotel & Spa, Richmond Way (Shepherd's Bush)

Price: $919. Room-only price:$199 (Quikbook.com), $212 (Orbitz.com), $270 (Expedia.com, Hotels.com).

Details: This sleek, glass-paneled hotel with a "South Beach meets East Village" tag line looks as if it was plopped into West London by accident, on a residential street way out by the Shepherd's Bush Tube station on the Central line. (Note: There are two Shepherd's Bush stations; the other is on the Hammersmith and City line.) If you're into modern hotels, the 222 rooms with king-size beds, dark wood, brown-and-beige color schemes and leather couches will fit the bill. It's a popular spot for meetings; we wonder how many people sneak off from committee to the lovely Asian-themed spa downstairs. (Guests using the facilities are charged about $20 per room; the fee can go toward treatments, which start at $120 and rise quickly.) Wireless is available for about $19 for 24 hours.